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6 to Know Thursday, Sept. 5

From the latest on Hurricane Dorian and how to help victims to jumping into the cockpit with hurricane hunters, here are the 6 things to know for Sept. 4:

(Published Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019)

Here are the 6 Things to Know for Thursday, Sept. 5:

1. Hurricane Dorian has strengthened back to a Category 3 storm as the system continues its slow trek up the southeastern coast of the United States.

The National Hurricane Center said the deadly storm was about 85 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina as of 5 a.m. Thursday. The storm was moving north at 7 mph with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph heavy squalls were beginning to affect southern North Carolina.

2. Hurricane Dorian’s devastation came into sharper focus as the death toll climbed to 20 and many people emerged from shelters to check on their homes.

For days, the hurricane had pounded the Bahamas with winds up to 185 mph and torrential rains, swamping neighborhoods in brown floodwaters and destroying or severely damaging, by one estimate, nearly half the homes in Abaco and Grand Bahama, which have 70,000 residents.

3. Much of what we know about Hurricane Dorian comes from hurricane hunters – professionals who track storms from the sky. It’s vital work that provides meteorologists on the ground crucial information. Take a look at what happened when NBC 6 reporter Dan Grossman took a flight with the hurricane hunters to the eye of Hurricane Dorian.

4. Hurricane Dorian made landfall as a Category 5 monster and devastated the northwestern Bahamas with catastrophic winds and storm surge. Click here for a list of ways you can help hurricane victims by donating money and goods.

5. If you’re getting a highway in Florida, you should know that tolls are back and reinstated. Tolls were suspended to help ease congestion for evacuees looking to avoid Hurricane Dorian as it slowly churned closer to Florida.

6. Local leaders are reminding residents not to dump sand from your sandbags on the beach because the two are not compatible and can cause issues for turtle nesting. You can hold on to your sandbags until the end of hurricane season -- which is November 30.